foggy27

I am looking for suggestion in itinerary for a 10-day trip to Ontario and Quebec. We are from San Francisco Bay Area, and we have booked the flight that arrives in Montreal on Oct.4, and leaves Toronto on Oct.15. We would like to visit Montreal, Quebec City, Niagara Falls and Toronto.

We are really interested in the fall colors. We are blessed with great weather the entire year in Bay Area, but we miss the change of color. The initial research gives us 2 prime spots:

• Algonquin Park near Toronto
• Laurentian Mountains near Montreal

Can they be easily visited as day trips from Toronto and Montreal, respectively?

The tentative plan is as follows:

1. Spend a couple of days in Montreal using public transportation
2. Rent a car to visit Laurentian Mountains as day trip
3. Drive to Quebec City for another couple of days
4. Drive back to Montreal, return the car (dropping rental car in another location is very expensive in Canada)
5. Take train (or flight) to Toronto
6. Rent the car to visit Niagara Falls (1 night enough?), and perhaps some wineries
7. Drive back to Toronto for the rest of the trip (we will keep the car as Toronto is more spread out)

An alternative is to visit QC first, then drive back to visit Laurentian Mountains before returning the car. Use public for transportation for another day or two in Montreal before flying/training to Toronto. I will appreciate advice on itinerary, and how to allocate time for each segment. Thanks in advance.

mat54

For the Ontario portion, you might theoretically do Algonquin Park as a rather long day trip from Toronto, but it would be a rush. It's close to a 3 hour drive one way, plus you'd want to spend a good few hours in the park to enjoy it. The main road through it is about 36 winding miles of lakes, forested hills, pull-overs, scenic short hikes, a Visitors Centre with Museum and viewing deck, picnic areas, etc. Another issue might be timing. Their website reports that they expect Peak colour in late September/early October. That could change a bit, but once colours peak, the leaves can start falling soon after especially if we get rain and wind. Here is an Ontario fall colour report page: http://www.ontariotravel.net/publica...lourreport.pdf

If you decide to do an Algonquin overnight, book ahead especially on weekends as fall colour draws lots of visitors. There are a few nice colour tours a bit closer to Toronto, although not as magnificent as Algonquin, but we can give some suggestions if you like.

Niagara Peninsula along the escarpment (which is where many of the wineries are) can have some nice colour, although typically a bit later than elsewhere in Ontario (being surrounded by 2 Great Lakes keeps this region warmer). You could do a 1 night/2 full days visit although a couple of nights would be a bit more leisurely, allow you to enjoy the Falls and visit a few more wineries plus maybe spend a night in historic Niagara-on-the-Lake - a short scenic drive down the Niagara Parkway from the falls.

foggy27

Good point on timing. We will probably focus on Laurentian at the beginning of the trip, skip Algonquin and inetead spend a little more time near Niagara.

Is there a good web site on the fall foliage condition in Ontario? I am using Bonjure Quebec site for Quebec portion.

mat54

In my email above I sent a link for the Ontario fall colour report which is published twice weekly.

Another suggestion for a nice colour daytrip from Toronto would be to head to the Caledon area and if you have time to make a really full day of it, north from there on Airport Road which has hilly scenic sections (possible stop in the village of Creemore) then to the Blue Mountain area near Collingwood. You can explore the backroads around Blue Mountain which can be exceptionally colourful. If time permits (or if you decide to overnight at the Blue Mountain Intrawest Resort Village), continue on to Thornbury then start circling back from there through the Beaver Valley to Kimberley. Mapquest or other online map services will give you a detailed route.

mat54

Of course I meant in my "post" above, not email.

irecommend

If you are looking for fall colour in the Niagara area you may like to check out the Balls Falls conservation area. We were there this weekend and there are several nice hikes (as well as connections to the Bruce Trail) We will visit for sure when the colors change-some very pretty vistas there for sure.

irecommend

Here is a link with map.
http://www.npca.ca/conservation-areas/balls-falls/
There are some nice wineries close by such as Vineland Estates and Megalomanic which have great views to the lake from the escarpment.

Also a drive along the gorge from Niagara Falls to Niagara on the Lake will be very pretty with the changing colors.

LandcruiseLtd

Hello: Might you consider an RV? Packing all you want to see into only 10 days, can be done, if you are able to change your flights and fly home to SFO from Toronto. I have a host of suggestions. Cheers Graham.

ShutterbugBill

Mont Tremblant, 80 miles north of Montreal. The Fall leaves are fantastic. See attached for a sample of the area.

http://untourscafe.com/profiles/blog...BlogPost:13346

OceanBreeze1

You may also want to consider driving to Ottawa from Montreal. From Ottawa, go through Algonquin Park. Hike some of the many trails, canoe & stay in AP that night. Then back to Toronto for your flight on Oct 15. Killarney lodge in AP is very nice. www.killarneylodge.com
KL closes for the season on Oct 16.

Monday Oct 10 is Canadian Thanksgiving.

mat54

You probably have your trip planned by now and not to belabour the idea of Algonquin (which you initially considered but decided to skip due to timing): The various suggestions above should allow you to view some excellent fall colours. However I'm a big fan of Algonquin at any time of year, and fall can be absolutely spectacular there if you time it right. So, I can't help but suggest you might still consider at least a drive through with an overnight if you can fit it in. If so, I would suggest you do it between Montreal and Toronto rather than as a separate outing from Toronto. This might make more sense from both a driving and timing point of view, e.g. will get you there earlier in October and closer to peak. From Montreal the drive to Algonquin is about 5 hours. Spend the afternoon there, grab lodging nearby then the following day take the Highway 35 route through the Haliburton Highlands towards Toronto for more beautiful colour (about 3 1/2 to 4 hours) or take Hwy 11 to save an hour if need be.

mat54

OceanBreeze - you and I were thinking alike (I was interrupted while writing and posted mine without refreshing so didn't see yours until after). I thought about Ottawa too, but wondered if that might be getting to be too much for 10 days for foggy27 as they also want to do Montreal, the Laurentians, Toronto and Niagara area.

OceanBreeze likes and recommends Killarney Lodge which is scenically situated inside the park, but just to let you know, there are also lots of accommodation choices near (rather than in) the park including the communities of Oxtongue Lake, Dwight and Huntsville.

Darlene_O

And don't forget the East Gate of Algonquin where we have Couples Resort, Adventure Lodge, The Mad Musher, Whitney Cabins and more.. And the colors are now started and fall is in the air.

laverendrye

I think that your original itinerary is fine--look at the weather and depending on it do the Laurentians first, or after Quebec City.

With the time you have available, forget about Algonquin Park and Muskoka. You will see lots of autumn foliage while in Quebec and around Toronto and Niagara.

tomarkot

Hello foggy27,

Unless you have your accomodations booked, we'd recommend staying in the charming little town of Niagara-on-th-Lake (NOTL) to enjoy Niagara Falls. It's a beautful 20 minute drive down the Niagara River, and is much less touristy than the town right above the falls-unless you can get a room in a nice hotel overlooking the falls. NOTL has a number of B&B's, as well as some quaint hotels. It has a selection of nice restaurants, and is in the vicinity of wineries. Just some thoughts. Enjoy your trip. We'll be in Maine and Quebec City during early October, so we'll hope for good weather for all of us who will be visiting the area!

foggy27

Thanks for the great advices. The only thing we have pre-paid is flight to Montreal, first night hotel and flight out. We will be monitoring the weather and coloration and prepare for changes.

Visiting Algonquin Park via Ottawa is an option. Time is short, but we can cut Toronto part, as we have been there before.

mat54

Hello again foggy. As previously mentioned I happen to be a big fan of Algonquin. However they have been reporting peak colour over the past week. Some colour could last for a while, but after peak if there is a wind storm or a lot of rain the leaves can start falling. Google the Friends of Algonquin website before you go for updates, or give them a call, I've found them very friendly to these types of inquiries in past. You also have the link above for the general fall colour leaf report for all of Ontario. Let us know how your trip turns out!

mat54

One more thing - OceanBreeze did mention above that next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving Long weekend (Monday the 10th is the actual holiday). I am "guessing" (?) that booking hotels on short notice in the big cities probably won't be much problem. But the resort areas like the Laurentians, Algonquin and Niagara could be busy that weekend. Also - most major tourist attractions will likely be open (tourist areas have special exemptions for statutory holidays), but shops and even some restaurants in other districts may be closed on the Monday. Best to check ahead.